Next month, a horse from California will try to become the 12th winner of the Triple Crown, which comprises the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. But the 3-year-old has already accomplished something very few horses have over the past 50 years: He has made people care about horse racing again.

It’s been quite a month for California Chrome. On May 3, he entered the Kentucky Derby as the favorite and didn’t disappoint. He followed that up with a Preakness win at Pimlico in Baltimore on May 17, which means all that remains is the 1½-mile Belmont Stakes in New York on June 7.

And if he wins, what next? If you ask Sports Illustrated horse racing writer Tim Layden, probably not much. People are not going to become superfans who can name 40 or 50 horses and tell you where they’re racing and how they’re doing, he said. A run at the Triple Crown is something much different.

“It’s a big event, and people like to be part of a big event,” Layden said.

And that will be that — end of story.

That’s the way it goes for niche sports in America. Mary Lou Retton became a global brand while elevating gymnastics in the 1980s, Michael Phelps’s dominance in the pool inspired parents to sign their kids up for swimming lessons and Brandy Chastain helped make sports fans realize just how exciting women’s soccer can be. But how are gymnastics, swimming and women’s soccer doing now?

An individual achieving celebrity status in a niche sport does not often translate into a permanent boost for the sport in question. The story will likely be the same for California Chrome and horse racing, despite the horse’s rapid ascent to prominence within the American sports narrative. The big problem is that even the most dedicated viewer of sports has a limited amount of time to be a fan, and it’s awfully hard for any sport to compete with the NFL, NHL, NBA, college football and Major League Baseball for people’s attention.

But even in the midst of hockey and basketball playoffs, and the lure of warm days at Fenway Park, there is a place for California Chrome and horse racing. Except for the Olympics and other international contests, American sports fans rarely come together as one cheering mass.

On June 7, the nation has an opportunity to watch a spectacular animal attempt to do something that hasn’t been done since 1978. Best of all, there will be very little trash talking on social media and online comment sections in the days leading up to the Belmont Stakes (except possibly for the breathing strip conspiracy theorists.)

And maybe that’s just what America needs. Maybe people should embrace horse racing because the contest, while thrilling, is void of animosity among fans and between fans and athletes. To root for historic excellence instead of laundry probably won’t become the next big thing in sports, but California Chrome is giving everybody a chance to try it out.

And who knows? Maybe America still has the time for another horse-racing heyday.